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adoll

The Caretaker

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The battle is over, the enemy has been vanquished and their town is looted and burned.  Our fort is still here -- it serves as a reminder to the enemy just how much we value exerting influence over these territories on Wild.  The Kingdom needs the fort to prevent the enemy from coming this way ever again; thus, the fort needs a caretaker.  That's why I'm here.  I'm the Caretaker.

The fort was a work of the best masons and miners in the entire Kingdom.  They were here, working in secret for days before the Enemy even knew we were here.  Just outside the local area of the unsuspecting enemy village, our craftsmen toiled while warriors stood ready to defend should the Enemy discover this refuge before it was ready.  It was as much good luck as good planning that the warriors weren't called into action until the fort was ready for action.

There wasn't much of a fight.  Most of the enemy villagers saw us coming and had already gathered their belongings to slip away long before the actual attack came.  The end was an anti-climax after all the preparation.

Since then, the fort has been pretty lonely.  Occationally, one of the warriors drops by to go loot the abandoned enemy village.  Mostly I've been left to tend the walls and keep the stock of repair bricks from decaying.  No one expects the enemy to return; but if they do, I'll be able to hold the walls from collapsing long enough for our warriors to arrive.  That's what caretakers do: keep walls from falling whilst warriors are riding in on horseback to deal with unwanted visitors.

 

So I spend time making a few bricks, then cook some barely edible meals that even the local wild dogs won't eat.  At sunrise, I'll go out back and rip away some of that wretched mycellium, then plant fresh grass and flowers.  When the mycellium fungus gets into the trees they must be cut down and burned to cleanse the land of the vile odour.  So I spend more time cutting, then cleaning the soil and am rewarded by birdsong and the return of green grass and healthy fruit trees.

 

The warriors and craftsmen are already working on their next project.  One day, this fort may soon no longer matter to the Kingdom and I'll get posted to another place.  Who knows if my work here will matter?  Will the grassland grow or will the fungus return?  Will the fort eventually decay or will another caretaker be sent to keep it ready for another battle?

Such are the deep thoughts of a Caretaker.

Edited by adoll
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